By: Dominica Morris

If you’ve been following my blog over the years you know that I love journaling and that journaling and mindfulness go hand in hand. Journaling reduces stress, puts your thoughts on paper, allows you to self-reflect, and helps you keep your thoughts organized. There are so many different ways you can journal, from drawing your thoughts, writing what you’re grateful for, or let your thoughts fall freely on paper. But for some of us, it might be hard to figure out what we should journal about, this is when journal prompts can be helpful. Journal prompts are a series of questions that help you self-reflect on a variety of topics about yourself and your life. You usually only answer one prompt a day but could do more if you feel like it. I’ve created a list of some of my favorite self-development and stress-relieving journal prompts that can help you in your health journey.

Why Journaling is Powerful

If you’re new to journaling you’re probably wondering in what way is journaling good for you and how journaling helps? So, before I share my favorite journal prompts, I want to explain to you why journaling is so beneficial and why journaling is good for your mental health. I’m going to break down how journaling helps with stress and how it helps with anxiety.

By nature, I’m a person who worries and stresses a lot. I’ve always experienced anxiety even from a young age. At times it would get so overwhelming, so I started to learn how to deal with those feelings early on. Journaling was one such activity. It’s great putting my thoughts on paper and processing them that way. It’s a way of freely expressing what I am feeling without judgment. There’s also some science to this. When we’re writing we’re accessing the left hemisphere of our brain, the left hemisphere is analytical and rational. When we’re dealing with stressful situations and write them down, we’re using our rational and analytic side of our brain to work through our negative experiences and feelings. Helping us see the problem from a less emotion-driven perspective helps us solve the problem.

The Science Behind Journaling and Health

We know that journaling is beneficial for mental health, but did you know that it can also help with your physical health? According to a 2018 study by Karen A. Baikie and Kay Wilhelm expressive writing has long-term benefits on health outcomes such as fewer stress-related visits to the doctor, improved immune system, reduced blood pressure, improved lung and liver function, and even improved sporting performance. Pretty mind-blowing how something so simple can improve your overall health and wellbeing.

How Often Should You Write in Journal

So, you’re probably wondering to get these amazing health benefits from journaling how often should you journal? You’ve probably heard that you should journal every day but the way everybody’s schedules and life is set up this isn’t always possible. According to the same study by Karen A. Baikie and Kay Wilhelm, journaling 3 to 5 times a week will give you the above-mentioned health benefits. Some people prefer journaling first thing in the morning and others prefer to do it at night. I personally find more time journaling in the evenings once I put Carter to bed. This is usually the time I get to focus on myself. It doesn’t matter when you decide to do it, just find the best time of the day that works best for your schedule.

Journaling Prompts for Healing

When it comes to journaling your thoughts, it can sometimes be a bit overwhelming. This is especially hard for me when I am journaling negative feelings or things that are difficult for me to put into words this is why I love journal prompts. Journaling your feelings is easy when you have prompts that help guide you through your thoughts.

40 Journaling Prompts

Journaling to Reduce Anxiety

How do your thoughts support your goals right now and if they don’t how can you eliminate them?
List two amazing things that happened yesterday.
How can I practice self-care today?
How do I want to feel today and what thoughts do I need to think about to feel this emotion?
List 3 people who love you just the way you are.
What triggers your anxiety and how can you minimize those triggers?
On a scale of 1-10 what level is your anxiety right now and why?
What or who are you grateful for today and why?
What helps you calm down and how can you incorporate those activities more into your life?
Make a list of 5 things that always make you smile or happy.
Write down your more reoccurring thoughts and the reasons why they keep coming up in your life.
List three things you would like to change in your life and different ways you can accomplish each task.
List 3 songs that make you happy. Why do they make you happy?

Journaling to Reduce Stress

Write down 5 things that make you happy. Why do they make you happy and how can use those things to relieve stress?
For 5 minutes write down everything that worries you. How can you eliminate those worries from your life?
In what area of your life would you like to be more organized and how can you achieve this? Write down 5 action steps to achieve this goal.
In what 3 ways can you be gentler with yourself?
Review your to-do list and see what item on that list that you don’t necessarily have to do or that isn’t the best use of your time right now.
What is something that you have to do but you’re actually scared to do? How would you encourage a good friend to do it, if they were in your shoes?
What are two upcoming activities or events you can say no to that would actually make you feel better?
How can I make my mornings less stressful? What is one minor change I can for this right now?
Stress isn’t in control of me. I’m strong and can overcome it because…
How can I take one step towards my dream life today?
How does my stress affect my daily life?
Write a letter to someone or something that contributes to your stress levels.

Journaling for Self-Development

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
·What is your favorite thing about yourself?
What goals are you working towards?
When did you last feel confident?
How would your life change if you were more confident?
What habit do you need to stop?
What habit do you want to start for self-love?
What are things you got to stop doing because they make you unhappy?
What things in your life make you happy?
When was the last time you spoke kindly of yourself, what did you say?
How would you describe yourself to others?
How can you be more positive?
What does your support team consist of?
What is something that you’re good at?
What feels like a struggle right now?

Now that you know why journaling is good for mental health and why journaling is beneficial, I want you to try it for yourself. Just start by writing a little every day. I hope this post can help you use journaling for stress relief and to help whenever you need to put your thoughts on paper. If you’re looking for other ways to relieve stress you should also check out my blog posts Deep Breathing Exercises for Stress Relief and Relaxation and Simple and Natural Stress Relief Techniques.